Silencer and connecting medium for elevator-doors.



B. SPITZFAD EN.

SILENCER AND CONNECTING MEDIUM FOR ELEVATOR DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, I917- L-232A39, Patented July 3, 1917.

ATTORNEYS BERNHABD SPITZFADEN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ELEVATOR EFFICIENCY APPLIANCE (30., INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SILENCER AND CONNECTING MEDIUM FOR ELEVATOR-DOORS.

Application filed January 30, 1917.

overcome the noise incident to the operation.

of double sliding doors of elevators, due to the character of the means usually employed to effect a mechanical connection between the doors and a cooperative movement of the two doors that causes the same to open or close simultaneously. I attain the stated object by employing as the connecting medium be tween the hangers of the respective doors, a novel arrangement of an endless, flexible element, and by providing means associated with the endless element and acting to continuously maintain the same under tension while permitting proper freedom of move ment thereof, the arrangement furthermore being such as to prevent the possibility of any accidental interference of the relatively moving parts with one another, as well as to prevent all noise-producing contact of the moving parts with relatively stationary parts or with one another.

The nature of the invention and its advantages will more clearly appear as the description proceeds.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a front elevation showing my invention applied to a pair of sliding doors;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section on the line 22, Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a detail in section on the line 33, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail in section on the line M, Fig. 1.

In the illustration the invention is shown in connection with a pair of sliding doors A suspended by hangers B having rollers C traveling on a track D.

In carrying out my invention I provide an endless flexible element 10 here shown as consisting of a chain, the chain being pre-.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J uly'3, 1917.

Serial No. 145,444.

ferred for the reason that it' is not subject to the same liability of stretching as a cable or rope. The chain 10 travels in a vertical plane, the upper run thereof being in the same plane as the lower run and the said ver tioal plane is at a side of and parallel with the plane of the track rail D. The characters 11, 11 indicate sheaves or pulleys over which the chain 10 travels, the pulleys having horizontal axes and being mounted in the manner hereinafter described.

The two hangers B of one door are permanently connected with the lower run of the chain 10 as shown at the right of Fig. 1, while the hangers B of the other door A are permanently connected with the upper run of the chain. In the illustrated example, the means for establishing connection between the lower wrun of the chain and each hanger of one door is shown best in Fig. 1 and consists of a horizontal bracket 12 fixedly secured to a face of the chain by rivets 13 or equivalent means, and fixedly secured to a hanger B by rivets 14 or the like. The means for establishing connection between the upper run of the chain and each hanger of the other door in the illustrated example, consists of a vertical bracket 15 secured as at 16 by rivets orthe like to the hanger and offset laterally so that the upper end of the bracket will lie adjacent to a face of the upper run of the chain as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the said upper end being fastened to the chain by rivets 17 or the like.

The sheave or pulley 11 at one end of the chain 10 turns on a fixed axis which may be provided by any suitable means, such as a stud 18 screwed into any adjacent portion of the fixed elevator structure E. The pulley 11 at the opposite end of the chain is accommodated between the spaced sides 19 of a bracket 20 which is rigidly secured to the fixed structure E by bolts 21 or other means, and the axle 22 of said pulley may move in longitudinal slots 23 in said sides 19. The axle extends at its ends through the slots 22 and turns in bearings provided by the cheeks of a yoke 24. T 0 said yoke one end of a contractile spring 25 is secured, and the opposite end of said spring is connected with a screw bolt 26 which is adapted to turn in an internally threaded fixed bearing 27. The screw 26 may have a head 28 or equivalent formation for receiving a wrench or other turning tool. Set nuts 29 serve to maintain the screw 26 in the adjusted position.

By the described construction the tension of the spring 25 may be varied by turning the screw 26 with the result that the spring will act through the yoke 24 and pulley 11 to maintain the chain 10 under constant tension to absolutely prevent all rattling thereof and maintain the chain in its vertical plane of movement. Thus, no side lash of the chain can occur in the movement of the doors and no sagging of the chain. The construction establishes a positive connection between the doors, and in practice, I have demonstrated that in the opening or closing of the doors A, the chain 10, and

the brackets connecting the chain with the door hangers, as well as the pulleys, will operate noiselessly and, moreover, the chain is instantly responsive to the movement of either door so that there is no loose play at the connection between the door and the chain, thereby obviating all noise at these points as elsewhere.

I wish to state in conclusion that although the illustrated example constitutes a practical embodiment of my invention, I do not limit myself strictly to the mechanical details herein illustrated, since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without departure from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination with a pair of sliding doors, their hangers and track rail, of means to establish connection between said doors for simultaneous movement and to prevent noise in the operation thereof, said means consisting of an endless, flexible element resentin u er and lower runs movin in a vertical plane at a side of and parallel" with the track rail above the latter, pulleys about which said element runs, a fixed horizontal bracket formed with spaced sides having longitudinal slots slidably receiving the axle of one of the pulleys, a yoke having spaced cheeks slidably fitting the said bracket and revolubly carrying the lastmentioned pulley, a contractile spring connected at one end of the said yoke, a horizonal screw to which the opposite end of the yoke is connected, a fixed bearing bracket through which said screw extends, means to adjust the screw longitudinally and secure the same in adjusted position, horizontally disposed brackets rigidly secured to the face of the lower run of the chain and offset laterally, said brackets being rigidly secured to the hangers of one of the doors of the pair, and vertically disposed brackets rigidly secured to the hangers of the other door and offset laterally at their upper ends, said upper ends each extending alongside of and being rigidly secured to a face of the upper run of the flexible element.

2. The combination with sliding doors, of a chain connected with the doors, pulleys over which the said chain runs, and means associated with one of the pulleys to tension the chain, said means comprising av support, means revolubly mounting the pulley and slidable on the said support, a tension spring connected at one end with said sliding means, an element connected with the opposite end of the spring, and means to adjust said element to vary the tension of the spring.

BERNHARD SPITZFADEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

